Pokke's Lone Wolf
by Shroudedpanther
Summary: After a failed Tigrex hunt, the village of Pokke is left at risk. The call goes out for a new hunter to take up the job, but the one they get is not what they expected. The young man from the jungle regions who arrives to protect them is unfriendly and prefers to hunt alone, which is a death wish in the world of Monster Hunter. Series of one- shots with lots of action and epicness.
1. Ch 1: Pokke's Replacement

**Pokke's Replacement **

The young man strode confidently through the snow, feeling the cold of the Furahiya Mountains even through his thick parka. He was used to the steamy jungles and sparkling rivers of his home. He shivered and rubbed his hands together, impatient to arrive at his destination.

The small village of Pokke had requested immediate aid a few weeks ago, on account of their resident hunter retiring from wounds. The young man had pled with his village leader for two days before the old Wyverian had consented. The messenger from Pokke provided a new set of warm, furry armor that would help the hunter get through the snow to what would become his new home.

Strapped to the hunter's side was his bone sword, a gift from an older hunter who was his friend. The cheap blade could handle small monsters like Velociprey easily enough, but the man knew that he had better upgrade his weaponry soon.

Around a snowy bend in the cliffs, a bloody sight greeted his eyes. The carcasses of Popo, a docile beast that was normally raised for food, lay scattered about. Entrails looped like ropes from their bellies, and blood had melted the snow. The hunter instinctively went for his sword, raising his shield into a defensive stance. Cautiously, he crept forward. Whatever had done this couldn't be very far away, because the blizzard had not frozen the bodies yet. Damn it, it felt like something was watching him! He edged toward the corpse of a large bull Popo for cover.

Then an earsplitting roar made him jump. He looked up in time to see an orange blur plummet off a rock face, landing on the powdery ground with a _whump._ The beast rose out of the snow, hot vapor hissing from its nostrils. The hunter felt a primal urge to flee. It was at least twice as big as him, with powerful limbs, a thick tail, and a menacing mouth filled with razor- sharp teeth. Its beady eyes glared at him, and saliva began to drip from its already bloody mouth. It looked like some sort of wyvern, but the hunter had no idea which. All he knew was that he was in very serious trouble.

The monster tensed and charged towards him, hurling itself at a furious pace. The young man knew he could never dodge it, so he hunched behind his shield and gritted his teeth. The orange beast leapt the last few meters, plunging a massive paw into the shield. It shattered, and the hunter felt himself flying through the air.

But for some reason, he continued to fall with the wind whistling through his ears. The cliff! He realized that he must have dropped over it. His sword floated out of his numb hand. A second later, he felt a huge impact and everything went black.

Ф

When the hunter woke, everything was blurry. He sensed motion. Furry paws gently pushed him back down onto a travois. He drifted off to sleep to the comforting rocking of the cart.

The second time his eyes opened, he was in a soft bed. Birdsong filtered in a sunny window. The air was cool, but clean, and he could smell something delicious. A middle- aged man was spooning soup into his mouth with a gnarled hand, while the other gestured in the air as he spoke. The hunter tried to focus on what he was saying, but only caught a few words. The veteran hunter mentioned a "Tigrex", the young man's cracked ribs and bruised back, and something about resting. The novice huntsman felt sleep envelop him. He had one clear thought as he passed out: He was somewhere safe.

When he came to for good, he saw that he was in a small house. Along the far wall was a huge chest and shelves for weapons, armor, potions, and other goodies. Over the door hung a stuffed Giadrome head. Similar pedestals indicated opportunities to hang trophy parts of monsters. Yawning, the hunter eased himself off the bed, wincing as his bandaged ribs protested. He opened the trunk and found his furry Mafumofu armor inside, cleaned and folded. He put it on and turned to the weapons. There were a great variety of blades and bows here, albeit cheap ones. He strapped a small wooden bowgun to his right leg and slung a pair of bone blades over his back.

To his disappointment, the back door only led into a kitchen. It was in good condition, but dusty. Turning to the front door, he flung it open and flinched, unprepared for the welter of sights and sounds. A small village reclined before him, sprawling to and fro along the back of a low mountain. Wooden houses hung laden with snow, evidence of the recent blizzard. But smoke rose from their chimneys, and people were everywhere. Children shrieked and chased each other around gossiping adults. One boy even led a meek Popo down the muddy track. The hunter frowned as he passed it, remembering the slain creatures up in the mountains.

"Hail, hunter!" A man beckoned to him. As he closed the distance between them, the hunter realized that it was the same who had fed him soup when he was bedridden.

"I had no idea you would be up and about so soon! You must be made of stern stuff if you shrugged off a hit from a Tigrex!" said the older man.

"I'm still feeling it," assured the young hunter. "What happened to me?"

"Some of the Felynes were doing scouting work for the Hunter's Guild, to earn a few extra zennies, you see. They're trying to track the movements of the Tigrex you encountered, to make sure it's not moving too close to Pokke. Out of the blue, you hurtled off that cliff and landed almost in their laps! In fact, they told me your sword nearly cleaved the tail off one of them! Anyway, the Tigrex didn't seem keen to leave a handy meal, so they carted you back here. So here you are."

Felynes were a race of cat- like humanoids. They were roughly the same size as a housecat, but stood on two legs for the most part and were very intelligent. Many chose to work in the employ of human masters, or even start their own businesses. A popular job of a Felyne was to rescue downed hunters, which they did with incredible courage, for it usually meant that they would receive money in return.

"Be sure to give them my thanks. Who are you?"

"Why, I am this village's hunter! Well, former hunter, now that you've arrived. I fear that I was sent into an early retirement by the same beast that attacked you. To be sure, the Tigrex is one tough nut to crack. Hopefully you won't have to face it. But I'm sure you'll be looking for the Village Elder. She's over by that boulder made of Malachite. Good luck to you!"

The other hunter voiced his thanks, but before he had gone more than seven paces, he heard the retired hunter call out again. "Wait! What is your name, friend?"

"Just call me Shayde."


	2. Chapter 2: A Modest Undertaking

**A Modest Undertaking**

Shayde knelt in the snow, breathing hard. His eyes scanned the tracks of his prey; there was no doubt. The drag marks led down into the cave. A chill wind swept out of the yawning mouth, bringing with it a stench of frozen carrion.

Straightening, Shayde called softly to his feline companion. "Jet." The Felyne also sprang upright, shaking off the snow that was beginning to accumulate on his furry Mafumofu armor. The cat gave a last glance around, and satisfied that their back was clear, bounded to join his hunter.

Shayde strode into the cave, one hand on his bone katana slung over his back. Soon, the pair began to hear sharp cries of scavengers squabbling over scraps.

The hunters and Giaprey spotted each other at the same moment. The biggest Giaprey squawked an order to his companions, and they charged at Shayde and Jet, their sleek bodies weaving over the ice.

The bone katana whistled as it sliced through the lead Giaprey's chest. It fell with a scream, as did one of its mates a moment later. Jet's sharp claws had sliced its eyes into ribbons. He threw his sword, which revolved once and sunk into the last raptor's bony skull. Wolfe gave it a satisfied kick and pressed on without further delay.

A chasm loomed on their left. Every so often, dislodged snow would tumble over and plummet silently into oblivion. Jet, glancing over the side, gulped and hastily adjusted his backpack. The duo crept into a side tunnel, which reeked even worse than where they were presently.

Something shifted on the ceiling. Shayde had barely glanced up before he threw himself into Jet, knocking them both out of the way as a pale blob let go of its perch and fell where the hunters had just been standing. A mist of fluffy snow swirled around the creature that straightened up, sniffing.

The Khezu was only a little taller than Shayde, but at least twice as wide. Its gray, lumpy body was oddly transparent, so Shayde could see blood vessels and organs inside. Stubby wings ended in sucker-like digits, and its pudgy belly hung low.

Worst of all was the Khezu's neck, which weaved back and forth like a wicked worm. Inside its circular mouth were rows upon rows of backwards facing teeth, meant to keep prey that it caught from escaping.

Jet sprang up as if to charge it, but the Khezu arched its neck and screamed. The shrill sound reverberated around the cave until it seemed unbearable. Icicles shattered and sent frozen shrapnel over their heads. Once it stopped, Jet and Shayde got up from the snow, their hands releasing the death grip on their ears.

The Khezu leapt in their direction, and they scattered. Jet lobbed one of his many homemade explosives at it, and Shayde sliced at its legs as it landed heavily. Immediately, blue tendrils of electricity raced over the Khezu's hide.

With a sudden zapping sound, the lightning jumped into the air around it. Jet had staggered back in time, but Shayde was not as lucky. He was blown back by the lightning, only to be abruptly stopped by a wall.

His vision blurred as he sat up, feeling a tad singed. Jet was running circles around it, whacking it on the nose to keep it busy. It growled in annoyance and snapped at him. Shayde charged back in, swinging his katana in graceful loops.

Blood seeped from a foot long rent in its wing. The Khezu spun around, letting its serpentine neck hurtle around like a fleshy whip; the hunters flattened themselves to the ice to avoid it. Drops of saliva hissed and burned holes in the snow.

The Khezu's mouth rippled with more lightning. A huge charge steadily built in its maw, until the weight of it bore the monster's head to the ground. It released the electricity, which shot away from it in three lethal balls of sparking death.

Jet and Shayde barely avoided them, and watched as the spheres made contact with the cave wall and exploded. Chunks of rock and ice flew everywhere, and the smell of ozone made Shayde cough.

Before it could recover, Shayde ran at the Khezu and thrust his sword into its mouth. It reeled and thrashed, breaking Shayde's grip on his weapon. Instead of being spit out, the long sword seemed to sink further into the Khezu's throat. The damn thing was swallowing it!

Shayde unsheathed his hunting knife, determined to get his sword back, even if it meant cutting open its soft belly. But as soon as he got close, it crouched, lightning flying from its hide. He was forced to retreat. Jet, meanwhile, had tied three explosive barrels together.

With a twirl to gather momentum, he chucked them at the Khezu, his claws lighting the gunpowder fuse as they left his paws.

Shayde dived for cover behind a rock. The blast shook his teeth and blackened the cave with soot. The Khezu lay there, momentarily stunned. Shayde buried his hunting knife up to the hilt and hacked his sword free, which was halfway down its throat.

The weapon was covered in slime and gristle, but now was not the time to be picky. The Khezu pulled itself together, hissing, and leapt at Jet, who couldn't avoid it in time. The Felyne braced his small saber against the ground and vanished under the monster's bulk.

Shayde, who was coming to understand the Khezu's weak points, slashed at its feet, head, and wings. He threw himself against its flabby side and heaved it over. Jet gasped for breath, looking slightly flattened. Shayde helped him up, but a piercing screech told them that this wasn't over yet.

Orbs of energy raced past them; this time, a large slab of stone was shaken loose by the explosions. It seemed to fall with agonizing slowness, like it had all the deliberation of a glacier shifting. It struck the Khezu mid-leap and crushed it to the floor.

Any other monster would have been dead, but the Khezu's fat must have cushioned the force. It struggled underneath the boulder, wailing in pain.

Shayde turned to Jet. "Can you get one of those grenades inside of it?" the Felyne nodded. Lightning spurted from under the rock. The Khezu seemed to be losing control of itself in its rage. It finally fought free and sniffed deeply, trying to get a lock on the hunters. Jet hopped from one foot to the other, yelling insults at it to get its attention.

The Khezu's neck shot out, and Jet dodged. But the mouth closed around the barrel instead. It made a peculiar shape in the Khezu's gullet as it was swallowed. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a muffled _thump_ and a flash illuminated the Khezu's insides. It belched smoke and keeled over, dead.

Later, in Pokke's armory, the Wyverian blacksmith poured hot oil across tanned Khezu hide. A Felyne was busy sewing together a thick hood. A third assistant dyed the pale hides bloodred with permanent berry juice. One by one, the pieces of armor were finalized and placed on a mannequin.

Shayde stopped by to thank the smiths, pay them, and take his new armor. Once back in his house, Shayde stopped to admire his new look in the mirror.

Smooth red Khezu hide was stretched over a strong mail shirt, gauntlets, and greaves. A matching hood threw his face in shadow, which he liked. His new armor was ready for the hunt, and Shayde felt at one with its charms…

* * *

What monster should Shade assassinate next? You decide!


End file.
